Archive for April 18, 2012

Dick Clark, who changed the way people listened to pop music with “American Bandstand,” and whose annual “Rockin’ Eve” became a fixture of New Year’s celebrations, died today at the age of 82.

I have many a New Year’s memory staying up late on New Year’s Eve to countdown to midnight and watch the latest (and greatest) musicians take the stage on “Rockin’ Eve”. Over the past couple years since his stroke, Dick Clark has played a minimal role on the show, giving way to Ryan Seacrest. But, he was still there this past New Year’s, counting down to the ball drop.

One of my favorite quotes from Dick Clark came just before the 2010 New Year’s celebration:

“I do the best I can and have been encouraged to continue because I hear it serves to inspire many others.”

The television legend Dick Clark, who originated “American Bandstand” and the perennial New Year’s Eve celebration on ABC, died Wednesday morning, his representative Paul Shefrin said.

Mr. Shefrin said that Mr. Clark, 82, had suffered a heart attack.

Mr. Clark “had entered St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica last night for an outpatient procedure,” Mr. Shefrin said in a statement. “Attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful. He is survived by his wife, Kari, and his three children, RAC, Duane and Cindy.”

Sweden’s culture minister, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, is in hot water after a weekend art exhibit in which she cut up a cake baked into the shape of what was considered to be a stereotypical African woman.

A group representing Swedes of African descent has called for Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth to resign over that it called a racist caricature. But Liljeroth defended her participation, saying the cake was designed to “challenge the traditional image of racism.”

“While the symbolism in the piece is despicable, it is unfortunate and highly regrettable that the presentation has been interpreted as an expression of racism by some,” Liljeroth said in a statement issued by her office. “The artistic intent was the exact opposite.”

The artist who designed the cake, Makode Linde, is of African descent himself and said the piece was aimed at condemning the practice of female genital mutilation. Pictures from the Sunday exhibition showed Liljeroth slicing into the cake from the “genitals” and feeding it to Linde, who told CNN he made himself the head of the figure and screamed in pain when it was cut.

A Pakistani judge ordered earlier this month that the five women be deported back to their countries of citizenship after serving their sentence for living illegally in Pakistan.

The 45-day detention period ended Tuesday night, said Aamir Khalil, the widows’ lawyer. But he said he had no information on when they would be deported.

The widows — identified by U.S. and Pakistani officials as Amal Ahmed Abdul Fateh, Khairiah Sabar and Siham Sabar — have been in Pakistani custody since U.S. Navy SEALs raided bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad and killed the al Qaeda leader in May 2011.